Chapter 53: The Next Exchange

He staggered backward, pressing one hand against the wound as blood seeped between his fingers.

I landed heavily, struggling to keep my balance as my arms trembled from the effort.

My muscles ached from the constant exchanges, and my grip on the Doom Axe had begun to weaken.

I forced myself to straighten before the dwarf could notice how exhausted I was.

He glanced down at the blood spreading beneath his armor. For a moment, he seemed more interested in the wound than in the fight itself.

Slowly, he raised his eyes toward me, and the amusement that had remained on his face throughout our battle finally disappeared.

"How did you figure that out?"

I rolled my aching shoulder and lifted the Doom Axe, trying to ignore the pain that shot down my arm.

"Figure what out? That your little trick isn’t as strong as you want me to believe."

His jaw tightened, but I continued before he could respond.

"You can disrupt my mana, but you can’t do it whenever you want. You need to time it properly, and you can’t keep it up forever. Isn’t that right?"

I tilted my head, watching his expression for any sign that I had misunderstood something.

The dwarf tightened both hands around his long axe, his fingers closing firmly around the haft.

He didn’t answer immediately, but his silence told me enough to know that I had struck close to the truth.

"And you know what that means?" I asked.

I managed a smile, even though my arms were still shaking from the strain.

"It means I don’t have to be better than you at fighting. I just have to make you choose between dealing with my axe and dealing with my lightning."

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

The wind passed through the clearing, carrying the faint sounds of the goblins watching from behind me.

I could feel their attention on us, but I didn’t dare look away from the dwarf.

Getting distracted now would be a good way to lose my head.

The dwarf laughed.

It wasn’t the mocking laugh from before.

This one was deeper, almost appreciative, though a dangerous edge remained beneath it.

"Not bad, goblin. You may be inexperienced, but you’re not stupid."

He adjusted his stance, lowering his center of gravity as he brought the long axe in front of him.

The change was subtle, but I noticed it immediately.

His weight was distributed more evenly, and the position of his weapon made it harder for me to approach without exposing myself to a counterattack. He no longer offered easy openings, and his gaze followed my shoulders and hips instead of the lightning dancing around my weapon.

"I was planning to end this quickly," he said. "But it seems I’ve underestimated you."

I swallowed and tightened my grip on the Doom Axe.

The wound on his side was bleeding, and the blood running beneath his armor suggested that it wasn’t merely a scratch.

However, he was still standing firmly on his feet, and there was no sign that the injury had taken away much of his strength. If anything, his expression suggested that he was becoming more dangerous now that he had decided to take me seriously.

Worse, he had begun to adapt.

He knew I had discovered the weakness in his ability, and he wasn’t going to let me exploit it so easily again. Whatever advantage I had gained from figuring out his trick would mean little if I couldn’t use it before he found another way to counter me.

The dwarf took one step forward.

I raised the Doom Axe, and lightning crawled across its blade once more. The blue glow reflected off his armor as he watched me carefully, his long axe held ready to intercept my next attack.

This time, neither of us smiled.

The next exchange could decide who walked away from this fight.

I had no intention of letting it be him.

The dwarf moved first.

He stepped forward and swung his long axe in a horizontal arc, aiming for my neck.

The speed of the attack forced me to react immediately. I bent my knees and ducked beneath the blade, feeling the weapon pass close enough to stir the air above my head.

Before I could take advantage of his extended position, he shifted his grip and pulled the axe back, bringing it down toward my shoulder.

I twisted aside, but I wasn’t quite fast enough.

The edge scraped across my skin, leaving a shallow cut before I managed to move out of its path. Pain stung through my shoulder, and I gritted my teeth as I swung the Doom Axe at his ribs.

He had already begun retreating, however, and my blade cut through empty air as he stepped beyond my reach.

He wasn’t giving me the time to recover between attacks anymore.

Every movement served a purpose, whether it was forcing me to defend myself, keeping me at the end of his weapon’s reach, or positioning him to strike before I could retaliate.

I had to work harder just to keep up with him, and I could feel my stamina slipping away with every exchange.

He was getting serious now.

I tightened my grip on the Doom Axe and activated [Thunderclad].

Lightning spread from the weapon, crawling over my hands and arms before branching across my body.

The energy gathered around my muscles and raced along my limbs, reinforcing my body as the skill strengthened my connection to the storm contained within the axe.

The air crackled around me, and I felt a renewed sharpness in my movements as the lightning flowed through my nervous system.

The improvement wasn’t enough to erase the difference in our experience, but it gave me more room to react.

My arms felt stronger, my movements became quicker, and I could respond to the dwarf’s attacks with less delay.

I had to be careful not to waste the energy, though.

The lightning was reinforcing my body, not making me invulnerable, and a clean hit from his axe could still cripple me.

The dwarf’s gaze sharpened as he examined the lightning spreading over my arms.

"Another trick?"

I rushed forward, keeping the...